BARCELONA, Nov 1: While Joao Felix claimed another brace for Atletico Madrid and Eden Hazard emerged from his yearlong scoring rut at Real Madrid, Lionel Messi failed to score in a fifth straight Spanish league match as Barcelona stumbled again.
Felix scored Atletico�s first two goals in a 3-1 victory at Osasuna, building on his second-half double in a 3-2 comeback win against Salzburg in the Champions League on Tuesday.
The 20-year-old Portugal forward appears to be on the brink of a breakout season for Atletico after an up-and-down first campaign that only offered flashes of the talent shown at Benfica.
Felix scored nine goals in 36 games in his debut season for Diego Simeone�s Atletico. He has five goals in eight appearances this season.
�It is a good start to the season,� Felix said. �I have worked for this and my team-mates are helping me a lot. We are playing very well and need to keep it going.�
Hazard, likewise, gave Madrid fans some hope that his club-record signing from Chelsea last year was not a mistake.
The often-injured Belgian blasted in his first goal since October of last year to spark Madrid�s 4-1 win over Huesca.
Messi, however, just like most of his team-mates, failed to beat an inspired Fernando Pacheco as Barcelona were held 1-1 at 10-man Alaves.
Messi�s only league goal so far was a penalty he converted in the opening game for Barcelona.
Ronaldo Koeman�s side is eight points behind Madrid with a game in hand.
�It is not normal that we only have earned two of the last 12 possible points,� Koeman said. �You cannot complain about our attitude, but you can complain about our results... This is not the first time we have converted so few of our chances.� � AP
